Monday, January 6, 2014

Epiphany

Nations shall come
to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

(Isaiah 60:3)

from Psalm 72

Give the king your justice, O God,

and your
righteousness to the royal son!

May he judge your people with righteousness,

and your poor
with justice!

Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people,

and the hills,
in righteousness!

May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,

give
deliverance to the children of the needy,

and crush the
oppressor!

. . .

May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands

render him
tribute;

may the kings of Sheba and Seba

bring gifts!

May all kings fall down before him,

all nations
serve him!

For he delivers the needy when he calls,

the poor and
him who has no helper.

He has pity on the weak and the needy,

and saves the
lives of the needy.

From oppression and violence he redeems their life,

and precious is
their blood in his sight.

Long may he live;

may gold of
Sheba be given to him!

May prayer be made for him continually,

and blessings
invoked for him all the day!

May there be abundance of grain in the land;

on the tops of
the mountains may it wave;

may its fruit
be like Lebanon;

and may people blossom in the cities

like the grass
of the field!

May his name endure forever,

his fame
continue as long as the sun!

May people be blessed in him,

all nations
call him blessed!

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

who alone does
wondrous things.

Blessed be his glorious name forever;

may the whole
earth be filled with his glory!

Isaiah 60: 1-9

Arise, shine, for your light has come,

and the glory
of the Lord has risen upon you.

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,

and thick
darkness the peoples;

but the Lord will arise upon you,

and his glory
will be seen upon you.

And nations shall come to your light,

and kings to
the brightness of your rising.

Lift up your eyes all around, and see;

they all gather
together, they come to you;

your sons shall come from afar,

and your
daughters shall be carried on the hip.

Then you shall see and be radiant;

your heart
shall thrill and exult,

because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,

the wealth of
the nations shall come to you.

A multitude of camels shall cover you,

the young
camels of Midian and Ephah;

all those from
Sheba shall come.

They shall bring gold and frankincense,

and shall bring good news, the praises of the
Lord.

All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you;

the rams of
Nebaioth shall minister to you;

they shall come up with acceptance on my altar,

and I will
beautify my beautiful house.

Who are these that fly like a cloud,

and like doves
to their windows?

For the coastlands shall hope for me,

the ships of
Tarshish first,

to bring your children from afar,

their silver
and gold with them,

for the name of the Lord your God,

and for the
Holy One of Israel,

because he has
made you beautiful.

Hymn: Saw You Never in the Twilight

1. Saw you never, in the twilight, when the sun had left
the skies,

Up in heaven the clear stars shining through the gloom,

like silver eyes?

So of old the wise men, watching, saw a little stranger
star,

And they knew the King was given, and they followed it
from afar.

2. Heard you never of the story how they crossed the
desert wild,

Journeyed on by plain and mountain, till they found the
holy Child?

How they opened all their treasure, kneeling to that
infant King;

Gave the gold and fragrant incense, gave the myrrh in
offering?

3. Know ye not that lowly Baby was the bright and morning
Star?

He Who came to light the Gentiles, and the darkened isles
afar?

And we, too, may seek His cradle;

there our hearts' best treasures
bring;

Love, and faith, and true devotion for our Savior, God
and King.

(Trinity Hymnal, image from hymnary.org)

Ephesians 3: 1-12

For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on
behalf of you Gentiles . . . the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as
I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into
the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other
generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by
the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the
same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the
gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me,
though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach
to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for
everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all
things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made
known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

Anthem: The Three Kings

Matthew 2: 1-12

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the
days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,
saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star
when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he
was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests
and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means
least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

who will
shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained
from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem,
saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him,
bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the
king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it
rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going
into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and
worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and
frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they departed to their own country by another way.

Prayer:

O God, by the
leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth:
Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your
glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.